Top Row L to R: Becky MacDonald, Mustapha Khan, Charles Carr
Middle Row L to R: Foster Hirsch, Dijana Jelaca, Judith Kenny, Vashti Anderson, Mark Voelpel, Kelly Spivey, Ben Snyder, Michael Irgang, Tom Reilly
Bottom row L to R: Sarah Christman, Robert Tutak, Annette Danto, Lindley Hanlon, Vinit Parmar
Message from the Chair
The 39th Annual Brooklyn College Undergraduate Film Festival
Welcome to our vibrant film community at Brooklyn College. As part of a college located in the heart of Brooklyn, our Film Department looks and feels like this great borough – diverse, vibrant, sophisticated and creative.
Since 1974, the Brooklyn College Film Department has been one of the most popular and highly enrolled departments at Brooklyn College. The number of courses in both Cinema Studies and Production has continued to expand, as has the size, professional experience and academic rigor of the faculty. We are proud of our history of intellectual freedom and academic excellence, as well as the synergy from our location in a borough known for innovation, culture, and the arts.
Our undergraduate program is designed for students who are passionate about filmmaking and film studies. As part of Brooklyn College our undergraduates get a first-class liberal arts education while engaging in filmmaking from their first semester onwards. Through a rigorous curriculum, using state of the art gear and facilities, our department advances "learning by doing" while grounding our students in the fundamentals of storytelling. Collaborative, hands-on exercises and projects are complemented by courses in film studies. These film study courses range widely, covering a spectrum of important genres, directors, movements, and topics drawn from American as well as international film history.
Many of our faculty have worked extensively in more than one of our areas of concentration. We’ve learned that our careers can branch into unexpected regions so we want our students to be prepared for an evolving media landscape that is constantly shifting. We want filmmakers who are adaptable, and ambitious and who take risks.
Our community is made up of students, faculty and scholars from around the world and across the nation. We have a special commitment to educate immigrants and first-generation college students from the diverse communities that make up our city and state.
Due to circumstances related to the covid-19 pandemic, our Film Department has been fully remote since March 2020. We are transitioning back to in-person classes for fall 2021 and will offer more hybrid courses. We continue to prioritize health and safety for our community of students, faculty and staff.
During this challenging global pandemic, the Film Department has provided students with both synchronous and asynchronous classes. Hands on production courses maximize equipment usage while maintaining necessary health and safety standards. Students continue to write, direct, shoot, record sound and edit. We’ve been distributing iPhone/Smartphone Accessory Kits for all beginning and intermediate level productions. Thesis Projects have been following industry health and safety guidelines. Our 2020 Quarantine Showcase highlights the power of visual storytelling during challenging times.
For 38 years we have celebrated out students’ accomplishments at our BAM Film Festival. Annually we screen on average of 70 thesis films—narrative and documentary. Many of the films go on to winning honors and awards at national and international film festivals. We are proud of alumni—many of whom are well established and successful in the film and television industries. Our 39th Annual Film Festival will be held on June 24-25, 2021. It will be remote and open to the public. We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of our Film students who have struggled valiantly during this unprecedented year.
Our Brooklyn College Film students are resilient, creative and determined. We welcome you to BC Film and invite you to join our community!
Annette Danto
Chair, Department of Film
